Clause 3 agreed to. Amendment to clause 4 negatived on division (8 votes to 9). Clauses 4 to 10 agreed to. Government amendment to clause 11 debated, discussed with Government new clause 8 (Modification of electricity codes etc: settlement using smart meter information), Government new clause 9 (Modification under section (Modification of electricity codes etc: settlement using smart meter information)), Government new clause 10 (Date from which modifications of electricity licence conditions may have effect), and Government amendments 18 and 19, amending the long title of the Bill in consequence of the new clauses. Clause 11 agreed to as amended. Government new clauses 8, 9 and 10 agreed to. New clause 1 (Review of smart meter rollout targets), discussed with new clause 7 (Review: smart meter installation rates), and new clause 11 (Smart meter roll out cost benefit analysis), debated and withdrawn. New clause 2 (Review of public awareness levels and satisfaction with smart meter rollout), new clause 3 (Ownership restrictions to successor licensees), new clause 5 (Review: Use of powers to support technical development), new clause 6 (Review: Use of powers to support rollout of smart meters), debated and withdrawn. Bill title amended. Written evidence reported to the House. Bill, as amended, to be considered tomorrow; and to be printed (Bill 135).

Clause 3 agreed to. Amendment to clause 4 negatived on division (8 votes to 9). Clauses 4 to 10 agreed to. Government amendment to clause 11 debated, discussed with Government new clause 8 (Modification of electricity codes etc: settlement using smart meter information), Government new clause 9 (Modification under section...

The Minister said ““no less than five years””. Did he mean to say that he would report back after no more than five years?

The Minister said ““no less than five years””. Did he mean to say that he would report back after no more than five years?

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I am pleased that the new clause has been welcomed by Members on both sides of the House. In Committee, the Government said that they had the most ambitious deregulatory agenda in the world, so I would expect them to welcome the opportunity both to submit an annual report to...

I am pleased that the new clause has been welcomed by Members on both sides of the House. In Committee, the Government said that they had the most ambitious deregulatory agenda in the world, so I would expect them to welcome the opportunity both to submit an annual report to...

A ministerial undertaking is no substitute for stating something in the Bill. Government amendment No. 46 includes no such statement; in fact, the restrictions on the use of the so-called veto are so great that it is difficult to imagine any circumstances in which it would be impossible for an...

A ministerial undertaking is no substitute for stating something in the Bill. Government amendment No. 46 includes no such statement; in fact, the restrictions on the use of the so-called veto are so great that it is difficult to imagine any circumstances in which it would be impossible for an...

Of course we would love to have another go, because this has been such fun. May I bring the hon. Gentleman back to the reporting procedure? He is the Minister responsible not only for this aspect of deregulation but for better government practice. I made a suggestion yesterday—when speaking to...

Of course we would love to have another go, because this has been such fun. May I bring the hon. Gentleman back to the reporting procedure? He is the Minister responsible not only for this aspect of deregulation but for better government practice. I made a suggestion yesterday—when speaking to...

May I suggest that we return to the issue at hand? Listening to the contributions on the veto power, I am struck by a curiosity. Yesterday there were many contributions from hon. Members who argued that the powers set out in new clause 19, 20 and 21 were perhaps an...

May I suggest that we return to the issue at hand? Listening to the contributions on the veto power, I am struck by a curiosity. Yesterday there were many contributions from hon. Members who argued that the powers set out in new clause 19, 20 and 21 were perhaps an...

Is my right hon. and learned Friend concerned that the Government could lean on the more ambitious and younger members of the Select Committee to ensure that they come round to the Government’s way of thinking, although that would go against the rules of the House?

Is my right hon. and learned Friend concerned that the Government could lean on the more ambitious and younger members of the Select Committee to ensure that they come round to the Government’s way of thinking, although that would go against the rules of the House?

But.

But.

The hon. Gentleman will understand that there are many potential gains that we can deliver if we maintain this agenda. Regulatory costs are estimated to be between 10 and 12 per cent. of gross domestic product, and the administrative and paperwork costs make up perhaps a third of that figure....

The hon. Gentleman will understand that there are many potential gains that we can deliver if we maintain this agenda. Regulatory costs are estimated to be between 10 and 12 per cent. of gross domestic product, and the administrative and paperwork costs make up perhaps a third of that figure....

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. Let me begin by thanking a number of colleagues and others in the House. First, I must thank my ministerial colleagues the Parliamentary Secretaries to the Cabinet Office. I am sorry that one of them did not...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. Let me begin by thanking a number of colleagues and others in the House. First, I must thank my ministerial colleagues the Parliamentary Secretaries to the Cabinet Office. I am sorry that one of them did not...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way, especially as doing so probably spoils his effort to make the shortest speech of the evening, but I should like to encourage him in his question. If the provision in the Bill that sub-delegates the power to legislate in the first place...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way, especially as doing so probably spoils his effort to make the shortest speech of the evening, but I should like to encourage him in his question. If the provision in the Bill that sub-delegates the power to legislate in the first place...

The matter of the implied repeal of the Bill of Rights is of some consequence, and I think that it may well be a matter for the Chair or, indeed,Mr. Speaker, to protect the rights of the House, but that is not what new clause 15 is about. The new...

The matter of the implied repeal of the Bill of Rights is of some consequence, and I think that it may well be a matter for the Chair or, indeed,Mr. Speaker, to protect the rights of the House, but that is not what new clause 15 is about. The new...

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I have just collected from the board a letter from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. McFadden), dated 16 May, in which he says that during yesterday’s Report stage debate there was a discussion about the...

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I have just collected from the board a letter from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. McFadden), dated 16 May, in which he says that during yesterday’s Report stage debate there was a discussion about the...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Further to the point of order,Mr. Deputy Speaker. Would you be prepared to indicate when it might be appropriate for the Minister to make the clarification available, so that we have it before the start of the Third Reading debate?

Further to the point of order,Mr. Deputy Speaker. Would you be prepared to indicate when it might be appropriate for the Minister to make the clarification available, so that we have it before the start of the Third Reading debate?

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I was referring to the Committee. Was there any discussion in the Committee of the proportion of time spent by Departments on deregulation or regulation, and should that be a matter for review?

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I was referring to the Committee. Was there any discussion in the Committee of the proportion of time spent by Departments on deregulation or regulation, and should that be a matter for review?

We looked specifically at the history of the then 27 orders that had been dealt with and, with the limited information we had, tried to ascertain why delays occurred in some Departments. We found that we could report on the facts of a delay, but that we could not investigate...

We looked specifically at the history of the then 27 orders that had been dealt with and, with the limited information we had, tried to ascertain why delays occurred in some Departments. We found that we could report on the facts of a delay, but that we could not investigate...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and for what I think was a compliment. Unfortunately, I was unable to take part in yesterday’s debate on the Bill because I had already organised a full day’s meeting of a number of veterans’ organisations, at which we discussed very important...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and for what I think was a compliment. Unfortunately, I was unable to take part in yesterday’s debate on the Bill because I had already organised a full day’s meeting of a number of veterans’ organisations, at which we discussed very important...

May I set at rest the mind of the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper)? I am quite sure that I speak for my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) when I say that his earlier comment was a compliment, rather than an attempt to deprecate...

May I set at rest the mind of the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper)? I am quite sure that I speak for my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) when I say that his earlier comment was a compliment, rather than an attempt to deprecate...